The L in LGBTQ Stands for Lesbian

“I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.” – Audre Lorde 

Lesbian visibility day is a celebration of women loving women meant to create awareness for the accomplishments and challenges of the global sapphic community. Lesbian Visibility Day falls each year on April 26 – and due to the longstanding stigma and microaggressions aimed towards Lesbians throughout history, it’s an important one. 

The L in LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, an orientation that refers to a female-identifying person who is attracted to other female-identifying people. It is a preferred term and not an assumed one, as while a self-identifying woman may be attracted to people of the same gender as they are, they may prefer other terms (and pronouns) to describe her, eir, their, zir, his orientation and identity. 

There are a lot of internalized notions about what it means to be a Lesbian. A lot of them are homophobic, transphobic, and just plain wrong. Here are 5 quotes from famous Lesbians who have been empowered to speak for themselves.